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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CleverName" data-source="post: 1240746" data-attributes="member: 2591">Adventure 14Swimming with Oozesby Copoc Kitzam, Kulkan Shaman (David Nickerson)    After pillaging Harseth’s lair and bottling the Wyrd we made our way back to the village to relate the tale of Haken’s sinister plot.  We were cleared of any suspicions and before long returned to Haradrak where we sold the many useless baubles we had gathered.  Soon we were dripping with gold and eager to spend our newfound wealth.  We rested for several days while items were crafted to meet our specifications.  I had the magical enchantment suffused within my great club enhanced and Yax Che Mal was well pleased.  Soon an unsuspecting foe shall know his wrath!  I also acquired a Bead of Force and an Earth Elemental Gem.  Malcolm and I both purchased Amulets of Health and he went on to be fitted for a gleaming new belt.  Gudlaug procured some trinkets as well, but I can’t recall what they were.  The numerous stone spirits drifting through Haradrak intrigued me, but they were mere wisps.  I have failed repeatedly in my attempts to contact the mountainous spirit of Jormunsteinn.  Perhaps more research is required.  My spirit entourage has grown steadily, but I feel confident in my ability to command more powerful spirits still.  When preparations are complete I will attempt to contact Gondoc, the greatest Kulkan warrior to ever crack the egg, friend to shamans of legend, and destroyer of the Black Nest!    Time passed and we licked our wounds.  We received news of a huge conflagration in Kostelna, with much rioting and many deaths.  This news was quite satisfying.  After leaving word of our destination for absent comrades, we set sail for Vacomagus, intending to present the cask of Wyrd to Queen Nighean (na VAUHN)) and ask her favor in our upcoming battle.  Malcolm claimed to have “been in her presence” and assured me that she would not employ the Wyrd for evil ends.  We talked much on our journey, reviewing what we had learned and building our case.  We would warn Nighean of the nefarious Black Kulkans and their alliance with the Yuan-Ti, a race of shapeshifters and snakes, hypnotists that could cause fear and command dark spirits.  They were in league with demons and the Three Mothers, and more importantly they had possibly infiltrated Cimbri lands.  We had written proof of an alchemist named Krace hiding among the Saluri.  He had a viable formula to create the dreaded demon’s breath, a deadly drug with devastating effects that we had witnessed first hand.  Our case was tight and we felt confident.  We charted the most efficient route to Vacomagus and planned for a relaxing voyage.      Nothing ever goes as planned, and this became apparent once more at 3:00 AM during Gudlaug’s watch.  He spotted a floating corpse and several bits of wood banging into White Dragon.  He shook me and Malcolm and we then hooked the body and reeled it in.  Luckily White Dragon awoke in time to vault into the sky and avoid a collision with an old Iconian merchant ship.  Upon close inspection we could see that the ship was slimy and covered with black mold.  It was listing and appeared to be rotten, reeking of dead bodies.  Seaweed entangled the ropes and lines as if it had recently surfaced from an extended submersion.  Even more strangely, an Iconian war galley was protruding from the merchant vessel.    Suddenly the light dawned.  This was a Three Mother’s Zombie Ship!!!  We immediately rolled the corpse off of White Dragon’s deck.  Gudlaug flew closer in owl shape to detect magic.  He was quite successful as the entire ship radiated magic, but a very strong emanation also came from a book placed near the wheel.  Gudlaug detected movement within as well, and this prompted him to cast greater dispel magic on the listing vessel.  Millions upon millions of worms began pouring out of cracks and holes in the wood, causing the ship to list even more and subsequently drawing hordes of skeletons from the hold.  A wraith-like figure also made its presence known, shouting something in a language unfamiliar to me.  I would later learn that it had commanded the skeletons to take the book.  Perhaps sensing the most immediate threat, the wraith raced toward Gudlaug.  White Dragon blasted it with a cone of cold and then became invisible, moving closer to the loathsome vessel.  As the skeletons continued to emerge and congregate on the slippery deck, I called upon the great Xmukane Kan to haste Malcolm and fortify my natural defenses with the strength of stoneskin.  One of the skeletons lunged for the mystical tome and quickly slipped down into the sea.  Malcolm and I jumped into the fray and Yax Che Mal bolstered my club with his fury.  Malcolm, however, was most impressive, tearing into the skeletons and dispatching two or three to my every one.  After a brief battle above, Gudlaug finished the wraith fiend with a vicious flame strike.  To my amazement he then morphed into a porpoise, diving deep and giving chase to the descending dead.  I will certainly have to find out which spirits this druid has befriended!     Malcolm and I continued to smash skeletons, wondering if we should follow Gudlaug into the sea.  Just as we vanquished the last of our foes our comrade surfaced, dripping blood and a glistening, bubbling ooze.  He was smiling however, and holding the tome that had nearly slipped through our fingers.  He related how an inky cloud had enveloped him, soon to be followed by poisonous, acidic tendrils.  This aquatic ooze surely would have taken his life had he not transformed himself into an octopus to escape its suffocating grasp and then polymorphed the creature into a tiny, harmless gold fish.  After that, recovering the book from the lone skeleton had been a simple task.Following a brief rest we searched the hold of the zombie ship.  We located several chests that contained a sum of 5000 gold pieces.  We also stumbled upon a larder of recruit bodies patiently waiting for an opportunity to man one of the Three Mother’s vessels.  We knew that the ship must be destroyed.  A flame strike from Gudlaug proved unsuccessful, so White Dragon suggested that she might be able to tow the hulks apart.  This worked like a charm and both ships sank into the murky depths.The tome was written in Rolgulkan (big surprise) and in fact harbored a secret compartment.  The spirits were generous, as Malcolm was able to discover a poisoned needle trap without having to suffer its consequnces.  The compartment contained a pitch black sail covered with twinkling star patterns.  We wondered if this may be a magical means for the Three Mothers ships to travel through the Shadow Plane.  Deciphering the script proved this to be true, but also mentioned some sort of draining of some sort of essence.  This revelation caused us pause.  White Dragon agreed to help test it, and also asked to retain the sail if it functions as suspected.    I retired to my quarters as we continued our voyage, recounting the events of the day and wondering what I might have done to aid our party more.  We had all had some close calls recently-some of us closer than others-and I felt that I had not made use of the spirits to the full extent of their might.  I was, however, feeling closer to Kanul Yat Balam.  At that moment he showed me a way to gain some of his powers for an unlimited duration.  He recited a spell and suddenly I saw my various magical items in a new light.  Not only was my great club anchoring the menacing fists of Yax Che Mal, it was now awash in a magical aura all its own.  Kanul Yat Balam performed another incantation and I immediately knew that this ability to detect magic was permanent.  I felt strangely weakened, but remained hopeful that this vision might prove helpful on some future quest.  Until I can contact the great warrior Gondoc I will be content to do the best I can and listen constantly for direction from Kanul Yat Balam, First of the Kulkans and Master of Spirits.  Off to Vacomagus!=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=DM Notes:FYI: Adobe pdf of city notes: <a href="http://webpages.charter.net/wpeacock/palaestra/Vacomagus_e.pdf" target="_blank">Vacomagus (247 kb)</a></blockquote>

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